Kuwaiti investors lose millions in Bitcoin

Approximately 12,000 investors in Kuwait have lost half the value of their portfolios trading in the volatile cryptocurrency market, according to a report in Arabic newspaper Al Anba.

January and the first few days of February have seen a widespread sell-off in the digital asset, with the value of Bitcoin falling from its all-time high of $19,500 in December to beneath $8,000.

The collapse in the market has been felt particularly strongly in the Gulf state, where investors reportedly account for 1.5 percent of the total value of cryptocurrencies.

The average investment size is estimated at $10,000, which exploded in value to $70,000 by the end of the year as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple all achieved all-time highs. More than half of this value has since been erased amid the biggest market correction in two years.

BitFils, one the prominent local exchanges, reported that Kuwaitis were buying Bitcoin with their credit cards with an average monthly investment of $6,000, including commissions and other transaction fees.

One trader admitted t that he had lost more than $20,000 in just 18 days. “In the beginning, it entices you to trade and raise money to make more profit, but once you get losses you feel you have entered a cycle you can’t get out of. I now can’t sleep more than two hours because I want to recover my money.”